Movie Review: Albert Nobbs

Albert Nobbs (2011) 

Directed by Rodrigo Garcia 

Written by Glenn Close, John Banville, Gabrielle Prekop

Starring Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Janet McTeer, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Release Date September 2nd, 2011

Published November 14th, 2011

"Albert Nobbs" suffers from novelty. The film about a woman pretending to be a man in 19th century England cannot escape the novelty of star Glenn Close dressed as a man. Close's soft features and fragile demeanor betray her at every turn even as her Albert is a very sympathetic creation.

Albert Nobbs has lived for many years at the Morrison Inn where he's worked diligently as a butler. Scrimping every shilling Albert has saved up quite a nest egg; possibly enough to buy his own tobaccos shop and possibly even enough to live the life of his choice.

Albert is a woman pretending to be a man in order to find work and acceptance. As a child Albert was often abused and was to be left out on the streets after her foster mother passed away. Albert found a way out from under her abuse and poverty by dressing as a man and taking a job as a butler.

That was many years ago. Now, Albert is a respected; if somewhat odd, middle aged man living quietly at the Morrison in silent longing. Albert's secret is nearly revealed when he/she is forced to share his bed with a day laborer named Hubert (Janet McTeer).

In another of "Albert Nobbs" less than convincing visual portrayals, Janet McTeer plays Hubert and, like Ms. Close, Ms. McTeer's features betray her. Add that to the contrivance of two women pretending to be men stumbling upon each other in this way and "Albert Nobbs" begin to seem silly.

What keeps "Albert Nobbs" from becoming ridiculous is the complete commitment of both Glenn Close and Janet McTeer to their characters. While the movie seems to almost attempt to embarrass them, these tremendous actresses maintain their dignity and are never less than sympathetic.

Unfortunately, "Albert Nobbs" suffers for the novelty of Close and McTeer's less than convincing looking drag act as well as a lack of discernible purpose. For the life of me I cannot understand what "Albert Nobbs" was about.

Often times a director will excuse a lack of purpose by calling a film a 'character study;' "Albert Nobbs" is unquestionably that. However, the cop out of a character study is that it allows the filmmakers to not have to craft a compelling story but merely turn out characters who are strong enough to hold the audience's attention.

The characters of "Albert Nobbs" are unquestionably interesting, including the lovely Mia Wasikowska as the object of Albert's affections, Aaron Johnson ("Kick Ass") as Wasikowska's lover and Brendon Gleeson as a friendly, drunken doctor.

I mentioned Wasikowska as the object of Albert's affections. Here the film is unnecessarily coy about Albert's sexuality. Is Albert a lesbian? Does Albert know what it means to be a lesbian? McTeer's Hubert is married to a woman but her sexuality is vague as well; she was married to an abusive husband before stealing his clothes and becoming a man.

I understand wanting the audience to draw their own conclusions about these issues. I also understand that sexuality wasn't as well defined by sub-culture as it is in America in 2011. That said, the film is so vague and so coy that our ability to draw conclusions is nearly comically derailed. Glenn Close delivers a well-considered performance in "Albert Nobbs" but there are simply too many issues surrounding the performance for me to recommend "Albert Nobbs."

Movie Review: August Rush

August Rush (2007) 

Directed by Kristen Sheridan 

Written by Nick Castle

Starring Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Terrence Howard, Robin Williams 

Release Date November 21st, 2007 

Published November 22nd, 2007

I have long had the idea that those who were able to make a living playing music weren't just punching a clock like the rest of us. Music can't be treated like just another job. There is a magical quality to music and the people who play it that comes from some inner place that not everyone has. The new family fantasy August Rush captures the heady rush of musical magic with great heart and love.

Evan (Freddie Highmore) has been waiting more than 11 years for his parents to come find him, he's kept track. Given up for adoption as a baby, Evan has been at a boys home all of his life. All the while he has been consumed with the music of the world. Though he's never played an instrument, Evan is convinced he can hear the music all around him and that it connects him to his parents.

Flashback, 11 years earlier. On a rooftop in New York City Lyla (Keri Russell) and Louis (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) meet and fall in love. They spend one glorious night together and then are torn apart. Lyla is a cellist with a bright future and a controlling father who rushes her away from her new love. Louis too is pulled away by his brother Marshall (Alex O'Laughlin) with whom he plays in a rock band with the potential to be big.

Louis never learns that Lyla got pregnant or that a car accident may have taken that childs life. That is what Lyla is told by her father. In reality, that boy, Evan, was put up for adoption and now travels to New York City in hope that he can reunite his family by playing music. Once in the city he meets Wizard (Robin Williams) who gives him a guitar and place to sleep and though Wizard isn't necessarily a good guy, he helps August on those first few steps in his journey.

Director Kirsten Sheridan is the daughter of famed director Jim Sheridan and co-wrote his most recent masterpiece In America. Based on her work in August Rush, Kirsten Sheridan will no doubt make a real masterpiece herself one day. August Rush is close. There is far more good than bad in this lovely tale of music and family.

Holding it back is a slight hint of treacle and a heavy dose of pushiness. The film doesn't allow the audience to settle in. Instead we are ushered from plot point to plot by an almost constant pushing from behind.

Freddie Highmore has one of those faces that radiates joy. That cherubic face and hopeful voice have made him a star in his very short career. He was a standout opposite Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland and even more magical working again with Depp in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Out on his own in August Rush, Highmore ushers us over the difficult parts of  with his big hopeful eyes and warm smile.

Keri Russell nails the role of Lyla a sheltered artist who finds escape in music and love. The brief romance between Lyla and Louis is written on her face and we believe every second of their longing because we believe her. Russell's pained expression at finding that her son is alive is heart rending and you can't help but long for the reunion that on the surface seems predictable but plays out in a most unique way.

Music is the beating heart of August Rush and Jonathan Rhys Meyers stuns with his soundtrack offering "This Time" a song that plays throughout August Rush and captures the story in a perfect pop music frame. Mournful, longing, but catchy in the way great pop songs are, This Time is just a really good song and Meyers is a surprisingly good singer.

The literary pedigree of August Rush comes from the numerous nods to Oliver Twist throughout the story and especially in the performance of Robin Williams as the Fagin-esque Wizard. The pseudo-guardian to dozens of musically gifted children, Wizard doesn't train pick pockets but street musicians and see's in August a chance to get off the street corners and into night clubs and music halls. Wizard's love of music is inspiring but he is soon revealed as something of a villain, as close to one as anyone in the film.

Despite a high level of predictability and some outlandish plot developments, August Rush succeeds because of a tremendous cast and solid first time direction. Freddie Highmore is a winning presence with his heart on his sleeve impishness and Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers strike a terrific romantic chemistry.

Kirsten Sheridan remains in the shadow of her Oscar nominated father but if August Rush is a true indication of her talent she will no doubt cut her own path one day. Music, love and family are warmly celebrated in August Rush.

Movie Review: Bend it Like Beckham

Bend it Like Beckham (2003) 

Directed by Gurinder Chadha 

Written by Paul Mayeda Berges

Starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Juliet Stevenson, Archie Panjabi 

Release Date March 12th, 2003 

Published March 12th, 2003 

In the recent British release 28 Days Later, a virus spreads across Britain turning people into mindless zombies. We here in a America have known that virus for years, it emanates from Hollywood in the form of banal crowd-pleasing comedies that are all things to all demographics. Family friendly without a trace of irony, these films exist solely as cash machines and appeal to moviegoing zombies who can't take the time to think about why they are laughing as long as they are not offended. 

Sadly, the British import Bend It Like Beckham, shows this virus is spreading globally from Britain where the film is set, to India, where the film’s director Gurinder Chadha is from.

Bend It Like Beckham is a reference to worldwide Soccer superstar David Beckham and his impressive ability to make a soccer ball twist in midair and sail around a goalie. Beckham is the hero of the film’s star Jesminda Bhamra, a soccer player in her own right who hopes to play professionally someday. Unfortunately, Jesminda's traditional Indian family has already mapped out her future. She is to attend a university close to home, get a degree, learn to cook Indian food, and marry an Indian boy, just as her mother did and just as her sister is about to do. Jesminda however, has a dream that is much stronger than any familial tradition. 

The call of the soccer field however is unavoidable and after meeting a new friend, Juliet played by Keira Knightley, Jesminda finds her way onto a competitive soccer team with a chance to play for college scouts. This opportunity then opens the door to go to America and perhaps, a chance to play soccer professionally.

Of course, this plot is loaded with contrived roadblocks from Jesminda's numerous lies to her parents about her playing to the soccer team coach (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who both Jesminda and Juliet are attracted to. The film throws up so many roadblocks that it stops and starts like rush hour traffic. The one funny subplot in the film involves Juliet's mother played by Juliet Stevenson and her mistaken belief that her daughter and Jesminda are more than friends. The subplot is sitcom level but well executed by Stevenson, a veteran of British comedy.

The rest of the film is a lifeless set of clichés that never amount to much more than plot contrivance. There are no stakes in the film. One never senses that Jesminda's goal is in jeopardy. Obviously there will be happy ending, it is after all a comedy, but the film still has to have something interesting happen to get to that happy ending, but it never does. Nothing more than recycled cliches from better and worse films.

The comparison to My Big Fat Greek Wedding is obvious, the setup is almost identical and both films are generic, inoffensive crowd pleasers. However, some have also compared it with the Indian film Monsoon Wedding, a comparison that Bend It Like Beckham does not hold up to. Films like Monsoon Wedding and another woman on the verge movie, Real Women Have Curves, are exactly the movies that expose Beckham's worst qualities. Both of those films are daring and emotional and have humor that comes not from contrivance but from real life experience.

The most disappointing element of Bend It Like Beckham is that it was directed by the very talented Gurinder Chadha. Chadha's previous effort, the extended family drama What's Cooking, was a lovely, intelligent film with real characters with real problems. The characters in Bend It Like Beckham are pleasing archetypes that are easy to like because they have no sharp edges. They are inoffensive, easy on the eyes and completely unchallenging. In other words, they're exactly what Hollywood is looking for.

Movie Review From Paris With Love

From Paris With Love (2010) 

Directed by Pierre Morel 

Written by Adi Hasak 

Starring John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Richard Durden 

Release Date February 5th, 2010 

Published February 4th, 2010 

With so much butt-kicking and bullets fired in the new action movie, From Paris with Love, one still must marvel at the fact that what most people cannot get around is John Travolta's bald dome. The shaven skull of Mr. Travolta is the big buzz topic when anyone talks about From Paris with Love. This is despite the fact that it is the follow up from director Pierre Morel whose Taken was one of 2009's most popular films.

Travolta's dome is indeed a bit of a distraction but thanks to a solid turn by Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Pierre Morel's furtive action movie direction; it's not too hard to get around John Travolta's ham and cheese performance and bullet head. James Reese (Meyers) is a handsome kid who seems like he should be more than just a glorified bureaucrat's secretary at the American Embassy in Paris. It turns out; he is more, though not much more. Reese is also a secret agent but his career thus far has been mostly the busywork, laying foundations for real spies.

Reese gets his big break when a bombastic American spy, Charlie Wax (John Travolta), arrives in Paris. Though enlisted as Charlie's driver, James insinuates himself as Charlie's partner only to find himself desperately in over his head. Wax is a wildcard whose methods and motives are more than questionable.

Soon Reese is a little high on some high end cocaine, as is Wax, and his long suffering girlfriend Caroline (Kasia Smutniak) is beginning to suspect something about his job that he's not telling her. She has an important secret of her own, one that director Pierre Morel writer Adi Hasek use to strong dramatic effect.

From Paris with Love lacks the intensity and drive of director Pierre Morel’s Taken. Liam Neeson's frightening determination gave Taken an unpredictable and dangerous quality that kept audiences on the edge of their seats. From Paris with Love is much more of a classic, bombastic action film in the vein of the Rush Hour films, minus the intentional comic relief. Don't get me wrong, there is humor in From Paris with Love but only some of it seems intended. John Travolta chews the furniture, the scenery, his fellow actors, anything in his path in his most outlandish performance since Face/Off. Mostly, Travolta is entertaining. 

Occasionally, Travolta is so hammy and over the top it's embarrassing but not so often that it's a terrible distraction. Jonathan Rhys Meyers is well cast as the fish out of water wannabe spy and provides a welcome straight edge for Travolta's larger than life performance. You have to love how game Meyers is to follow Travolta and Morel's flights of bullet riddled fancy but his best work comes in giving From Paris with Love grounding in some sort of movie universe reality. When the film arrives at its dramatic conclusion it can only work with Meyers because Travolta lacks any pretense of believability in this universe or any universe.

There is plenty of fun to be had in From Paris with Love, especially if you are a fan of Travolta at his most balls out goofy. If however, you are looking for action and suspense along the lines of Taken, a relationship that TV ads are eager to sew in your mind, you will find yourself disappointed. From Paris with Love just isn't in Taken's league.